Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38761333›Full record

Observational studyInternal and emergency medicine2025

The Fenice project to evaluate and improve the quality of healthcare in high-dependency care units: results after the first year.

Giovanni Porta, Fabiola Signorini, Marcella Converso, Giulia Cavalot, Valeria Caramello, Carlotta Rossi, Franco Aprà, Angela Beltrame, Adriana Boccuzzi, Riccardo Boverio and 14 more

Abstract readMulticenter StudyObservational Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Internal and emergency medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

24 authors.

Giovanni PortaDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Santa Maria Delle Grazie Hospital, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy.
Fabiola SignoriniDepartment of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020, Ranica, Bergamo, Italy.
Marcella ConversoHigh Dependency Unit, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Giulia CavalotHigh Dependency Unit, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Valeria CaramelloDepartment of Emergency Medicine, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
Carlotta RossiDepartment of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020, Ranica, Bergamo, Italy. carlotta.rossi@marionegri.it.ORCID 0000-0001-9133-971X
Franco ApràHigh Dependency Unit, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, Turin, Italy.
Angela BeltramePronto Soccorso E Medicina d'Urgenza, Ca Foncello ULSS9, Treviso, Italy.
Adriana BoccuzziDepartment of Emergency Medicine, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
Riccardo BoverioDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliera SS. Antonio E Biagio E Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy.
Mario CalciPronto Soccorso E Medicina d'Urgenza, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, Presidio Ospedaliero Universitario "Santa Maria Della Misericordia" Di Udine, Udine, Italy.
Ersilia CastaldoEmergency Department, S. Eugenio Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Michele CovellaEmergency Medicine Unit, A.O. Parini, Aosta, Italy.
Patrizia CuppiniEmergency Medicine, Bufalini Hospital, Cesena, Italy.
Giulia Irene GhilardiDepartment of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020, Ranica, Bergamo, Italy.
Enrico MiranteEmergency Department, S. Eugenio Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Paola NotoDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitario Policlinico G. Rodolico-San Marco, Catania, Italy.
Lucia PierpaoliEmergency Medicine, S. Maria Delle Croci Hospital, Ravenna, Italy.
Paolo Pinna ParpagliaEmergency Medicine, A.O.U. Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
Alberto RicchiardiEmergency Medicine, Edoardo Agnelli Hospital, Pinerolo, Turin, Italy.
Michele ZanettiDepartment of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020, Ranica, Bergamo, Italy.
Daniela ZatelliDepartment of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020, Ranica, Bergamo, Italy.
Giovanni NattinoDepartment of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020, Ranica, Bergamo, Italy.
Guido BertoliniDepartment of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020, Ranica, Bergamo, Italy.

Funding

Italian Society of Emergency Medicine (SIMEU) Unconditioned grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

High-Dependency care Units (HDUs) have been introduced worldwide as intermediate wards between Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and general wards. Performing a comparative assessment of the quality of care in HDU is challenging because there are no uniform standards and heterogeneity among centers is wide. The Fenice network promoted a prospective cohort study to assess the quality of care provided by HDUs in Italy. This work aims at describing the structural characteristics and admitted patients of Italian HDUs. All Italian HDUs affiliated to emergency departments were eligible to participate in the study. Participating centers reported detailed structural information and prospectively collected data on all admitted adult patients. Patients' data are presented overall and analyzed to evaluate the heterogeneity across the participating centers. A total of 12 HDUs participated in the study and enrolled 3670 patients. Patients were aged 68 years on average, had multiple comorbidities and were on major chronic therapies. Several admitted patients had at least one organ failure (39%). Mortality in HDU was 8.4%, raising to 16.6% in hospital. While most patients were transferred to general wards, a small proportion required ICU transfer (3.9%) and a large group was discharged directly home from the HDU (31%). The expertise of HDUs in managing complex and fragile patients is supported by both the available equipment and the characteristics of admitted patients. The limited proportion of patients transferred to ICUs supports the hypothesis of preventing of ICU admissions. The heterogeneity of HDU admissions requires further research to define meaningful patients' outcomes to be used by quality-of-care assessment programs.

Indexed as

Intensive Care UnitsQuality ImprovementQuality of Health CareAgedAged, 80 and overEmergency Service, HospitalFemaleHumansItalyMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesHealthcare evaluationHigh-dependency care unitOutcome assessmentSemi-intensive care unit

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.